Weekly Round Up – The one with Illinois State Fair, dog DAY of summer, a city girl, Mean Girls, and running.

State Fair is behind us, Farm Progress Show is upon us and it’s time for another edition of the Weekly Round Up!

Illinois State Fair wrapped up last week and, you guys, it was seriously awesome! From an exhibitor’s standpoint, it was so great to see ag at the forefront of the fair again. For those of you who aren’t livestock exhibitors, I hope you enjoyed seeing livestock, ag products and ag in general front and center.

Did you know that Wednesday was National Dog Day? If not, give your pooch a smooch tonight. It’s not easy being man’s best friend. Especially when there’s a toddler involved, as my pup, Millie, can attest.

Check out this post from the Iowa Farm Bureau, written by their summer marketing and communications intern. This self-described ‘city girl’ talks about all the misconceptions she had when she stared working for the Iowa Farm Bureau, and what she learned while walking the halls — and farms. It’s an excellent read!

This, because it’s awesome. It speaks to me because, well, I was a farm kid. I realize, if you’re someone who didn’t grow up on a farm, it may not mean as much. But I do hope it conveys this to you: farm kids, and big farm kids (read: adults), too, love their animals. It’s our duty to protect not only our animals, but all animals, and will do anything to protect them, and the land on which they live.

Check out this post from Dare to Cultivate. Author Lauren Schlothauer talks about the ‘rose colored glasses’ phenomenon as it relates to ag and, I have to say, I’m guilty of it, too. There, I said it. I’m owning up to it. Knowledgeable about ag or not, give it a read. It’s great. Plus, Mean Girl references. Yes.

This, from the Kansas Department of Agriculture. I love it because it’s pretty true of all farmers, not just the ones that reside in Kansas. Well, except for one thing. I can tell you my grandpa, the farmer, has yet to master the title of ‘Computer Operator.’

And finally, this from Emily Webel at Confessions of Farm Wife. If you’re not involved in ag, it might be hard to understand why it seems like so many of us ag peeps are flying off the handle all the time; as some might see it, overreacting when it comes to consumers’ concerns about food or agriculture issues. Well, it’s because we what we do. And, also because, we’re just tired of the of the crazy misinformation out there. Emily says it best when she says, “I refuse to feed the crazies.”